Daniel 3 Devotional

Not Alone in the Fire

““Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!””Daniel 3:25 (BSB)

Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue and commands every nation to bow or be thrown into the furnace (3:4-6). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will not. When the furious king asks what god could rescue them from his hand, they answer that their God is able to deliver them, and even if he does not, they will not bow (3:15-18). Their confidence is in God himself, not in a guaranteed outcome.

The furnace is made so hot that it kills the soldiers who throw them in (3:19-22). Then the amazed king sees four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods (3:24-25). The three come out without a singed hair or even the smell of smoke (3:27). God did not keep them from the furnace, but he met them inside it. Through Isaiah he had promised that his people would walk through fire and not be burned (Isaiah 43:2). Whatever heat you face, you do not face it alone.

To think about: What hard situation are you facing where you need God's presence more than a guaranteed outcome?